Bill Robinson, who had ties to Mets
and Yanks, dies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 30, 2007

LAS VEGAS --
Bill Robinson, an outfielder who played on Pittsburgh's 1979 World Series
championship team and had ties to the Yankees and Mets, died yesterday.
He was 64.

Robinson, a former
Yankees outfielder and Mets hitting instructor, was in Las Vegas to
visit the Dodgers' minor-league team and was supposed to meet director
of player development De Jon Watson to drive to the ballpark. But Robinson
failed to show up at the appointed time and was found dead in his hotel
room, Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said. The official cause of death
was pending, he said.

To Yankees fans,
Robinson will best be remembered for his part in the Clete Boyer trade.
Boyer, a terrific defensive third baseman who died June 4 at 70, was
dealt by the Yankees to the Braves in November 1966 for the highly touted
Robinson, who batted .196, .240 and .171 and never lived up to expectations
in three seasons for the Yankees.

"I was supposed
to be a black Mickey Mantle," he told Newsday's Steve Marcus in
1986. "I made the mistake of hitting a home run in my second game."

Robinson, who
also saw action at third base and first base, played in the majors from
1966-83 and had 1,127 hits, 166 homers and 641 RBIs for the Braves,
Yankees, Phillies and Pirates. He hit .304 with 26 homers and 104 RBIs
for the 1977 Pirates.

Mets fans will
best remember Robinson as the team's hitting instructor from 1984-89.
"On behalf of the entire Mets organization, we send our deepest
condolences and heartfelt sympathies to Bill's wife, Mary Alice, and
the Robinson family," chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said
in a statement. "As hitting coach, he played an .integral role
in the 1986 Mets' world championship. More importantly, he was a devoted
family man, a consummate professional and one of the classiest men in
our sport."

Robinson also
served as a minor-league hitting coach for the Yankees and was a minor-
league coach and manager in Philadelphia's farm system. He managed in
the Venezuelan League and was an analyst for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight"
in 1990-91. Most recently, he was the Dodgers' minor-league hitting
coordinator. "Bill was a wonderful family man and a great baseball
player, coach, manager and friend to .everyone he met," Dodgers
.general manager Ned Colletti said. " ... Everyone he came into
contact with was better for having known him."

Robinson is survived
by his wife, a son and a daughter. Services were pending.